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The Inspiration 
of the Word of God 



A BRIEF ESSAY 

BY W»/ C. HEYER 

[ u 



LEBANON, PA. 

REPORT PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1905 






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PREFACE. 

THHE matter here treated, has reference only to the 
^ doctrine of inspiration, with its corollaries : the 
efficacy and authority of Scripture. The Scriptural ma- 
terial on which the argument is based, by no means ex- 
hausts the great wealth of evidence and testimony; still, 
a sufficient number of prominent passages has been ad- 
duced to show what Holy Scripture conclusively teaches 
on the subject. In the quotation of texts, the exact place 
where they are written, has not been inserted; since it 
was my desire to secure an uninterrupted connection in 
the sequence of thought presented by the paper. 

The term ''inspiration" denotes the act of God speak- 
ing through man. The qualifying terms 'Verbal" and 
"plenary," used in defining the accepted sense of the term 
inspiration, both signify one and the same thing: com- 
plete, comprehensive inspiration ; but each serves to make 
prominent a particular feature thereof. The term verbal 
emphasizes that the very words are given by inspiration 
of God. And the term plenary expresses that both sub- 
stance and form, both the internal and external Word, 



are the result of divine inspiration. The terms verbal 
and plenary inspiration, therefore, signify that man was 
but the instrumentality whereby God spoke His Word 
and had it recorded in Scripture. Thus the Church 
taught concerning inspiration, ever since she began to 
teach explicitly about this dogma. To testify which, the 
Nicene Creed affirms of the Holy Spirit, that He "spake 
by the prophets.'' And the Book of Concord expresses 
and sustains its position by repeatedly quoting texts like 
St. Paul's, ''Every Scripture is inspired of God." 

W. C. H. 



The Inspiration of the Word. 



THE Word of Scripture is the Word of the Triune 
God. By the Holy Spirit, the Word of God is 
originated, perpetuated, and made efficacious. He com- 
municated the entire Word, the internal and external. 
The Spirit caused men also to record the Word as it was 
inspired. For all time, the external Word is the ex- 
ponent of the internal Word. 

I. Divine Inspiration. 

Jesus, in the promise made to the disciples of sending 
the Holy Spirit, reveals distinctly the source and origin 
of the Word of God. He says : ''Howbeit when he, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the 
truth : for he shall not speak from himself ; but what 
things soever he shall hear, these shall he speak : and he 
shall declare unto you the things that are to come. He 
shall glorify me : for he shall take of mine and shall de- 
clare it unto you. All things whatsoever the Father hath 
are mine: therefore said I, that he taketh of mine, and 
shall declare it unto you." From these words, it follows 
that knowledge of the things of God, so far as at all made 
known, is revealed to men solely by the Spirit. And thus 
the Word of God, the embodiment of eternal truth, owes 
its origin to the Holy Spirit, whose plan and purpose — 



6 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

the glorification of Christ — is progressively unfolded 
throughout the course of the divine revelation. Whoever 
the man may be, that at any time spoke of things divine, 
he was but an instrument through whom the Spirit de- 
clared to the world the things of God the Son in accord- 
ance with the will of God the Father. It was the sphere 
of God the Spirit to communicate the words and counsel 
of God to specially selected men. As the Spirit moved 
them, so did they speak. This communication or inspi- 
ration comprised the form as well as the substance of 
everything which was revealed. For the presentation of 
the great truth, the Holy Spirit did not simply originate 
the subject matter, leaving the choice of words to the 
judgment of the inspired person; but He gave the sub- 
ject-matter clad in words and forms of expression chosen 
by Himself with perfect cognizance of the mental equip- 
ment and physical endowment of each one whom He 
moved to speak. Therefore, the internal and external 
Word together constitute God's revealed Word; just as 
soul and body in their united condition make human life. 
Accordingly, the entire Word of God is spoken by the 
Spirit through certain men. 

Inquiring as to the manner of inspiration, it is obvious 
that only the work of the Holy Spirit and the testimony 
of the inspired ones, can furnish the desired answer and 
information. If these two factors correspond, and if 
those qualified to testify by reason of having been the 
Spirit's instruments, corroborate each other's statements, 
then the matter is determined conclusively. 

However reserved and mysterious the work of the 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 7 

Holy Spirit is as a rule, yet there occurred several in- 
stances which make plain and manifest His mode of in- 
spiring. The chief of these occasions was the outpour- 
ing of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day. The events of 
that day furnish clear and distinct proof as to how the 
Spirit communicates His messages. For, as the imme- 
diate consequence of the Spirit's presence and anointing 
power, the disciples ''began to speak with other tongues 
as the Spirit gave them utterance/' In many divers lan- 
guages, they spoke, each as inspired by the Spirit. The 
people of the various nations represented in the multitude 
which had hurried together, were greatly surprised and 
marveled as they, every one in his mother-tongue, heard 
the men of Galilee speak of the mighty works of God; 
they all were amazed and perplexed at what they wit- 
nessed, so effectively and well did the disciples speak in 
languages of which they had no previous knowledge. It 
is self-evident that the Holy Spirit, speaking by them in 
other tongues, inspired both substance and form of what 
was in this wise said ; since the disciples did not know and 
could not use the given languages, except when moved by 
the Spirit. Also the Judaic vernacular was included 
among the inspired dialects, though the majority of 
tongues spoken, were foreign. But whichever languages 
were used on that eventful day, St. Peter clearly includes 
them all as being given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. 
Thus it becomes necessary to conclude that both the ex- 
ternal and internal Word were inspired. 

On two more occasions, the mode of inspiration be- 
came equally manifest. The one being when Cornelius 



8 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 



and his household were baptized by St. Peter; and the 
other, when St. Paul came to Ephesus and baptized the 
believers of that place. In each of these instances, like 
on Whitsunday, the baptized ones received visibly the 
gift of the Holy Spirit and in various tongues forthwith 
proclaimed the praises of God. Still another evidence of 
deep significance consists in the more abiding gift of 
tongues granted to various individual believers ; whereby 
they were enabled to preach at will in other languages 
than that, or those, which they had acquired naturally. St. 
Paul, for one, claimed to have in special degree this gift 
of the Spirit of God. And as to the purpose of the Spirit 
in thus revealing His power, the same Apostle declares : 
'^Tongues are for a sign, not to themi that believe, but to 
the unbelieving." 

These occurrences illustrate the manner, in which God 
by the Spirit spoke through all the prophets and apostles. 
A.nd the information supplied thereby, elucidates the per- 
sonal testimony bearing on the subject. It is of great 
consequence, that where any claims in regard to inspira- 
tion are expressed, they are found to be to this effect: 
God verbally communicated what He wanted to have 
said. So, upon choosing him to deliver Israel, the Lord 
instructed Moses : "Now therefore go, and I will be with 
thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.'' By 
David, the assertion is made: 'The Spirit of the Lord 
spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." Jeremiah 
testifies : ''The Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put 
my words in thy mouth." To Ezekiel, God said : "Son of 
man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. Q 

my words unto them/' And the Prophet, at another 
place, directly affirms : ''The Spirit of the Lord fell upon 
me, and said unto me. Speak; Thus saith the Lord.'' 
God Himself plainly testifies through Hosea : 'T have also 
spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and 
used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets." 

Even the Lord Jesus Christ received of the Father by 
the Spirit the things He should make known to the world 
about the kingdom of God. Hence He maintains : ''The 
words that I say unto you I speak not of myself" ; claim- 
ing furthermore : "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the 
poor." And again, in prayer to the heavenly Father, He 
states : "The words which thou gavest me I have given 
unto them; and they received them." Of the Lord's 
apostles, St. Paul asserts with reference to the inspiration 
he received : "I make known to you, brethren, as touching 
the gospel vrhich was preached by me, that it is not after 
man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I 
taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus 
Christ." St. Peter declares : "No prophecy ever came by 
the will of mian : but micn spake from God, being moved 
by the Holy Ghost." In the Epistle to the Hebrews, the 
matter is stated as follows : "God, having of old time 
spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions 
and in divers manners, hath at the end of these days 
spoken unto us in his Son." And St. John, in the Book 
of Revelation, repeatedly admonishes: "He that hath an 
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." 



lO INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

A few incidents indeed show the inspired men to have 
been constrained to speak as instructed by the Lord. 
Balaam, for instance, said : "Must I not take heed to speak 
that which the Lord hath put in my mouth?" Similarly, 
Amos queried: ''The lion hath roared, who will not fear? 
the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?'' 
Jonah acknowledged to the men aboard the imperiled 
ship : 'T know that for my sake this great tempest is upon 
you,'' and he confessed that he had refused to go and 
preach what the Lord had told him. The Apostles, when 
ordered by the rulers of Jerusalem to cease preaching, 
declared : ''We cannot but speak the things which we saw 
and heard." And St. Paul averred : "Necessity is laid 
upon me : for woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel." 

These and many other Scriptural passages and histor- 
ical facts, all supporting and explaining each other, 
abundantly prove the external as well as the internal 
Word to owe its origin to the Holy Spirit. The conclu- 
sion, therefore, which inevitably follows from the state- 
ments of Christ and the corroborative testimony of the 
Prophets and Apostles, as confirmed and substantiated by 
the events of Pentecost and similar occurrences, is that 
the entire Word of God was spoken by the Holy Spirit 
through selected men. 

2. The Word Perpetuated. 

The fact of verbal inspiration being established, it is 
incumbent also to consider the relation of the Holy Spirit 
to the perpetuation of the Word by writing. In order 
that future generations should possess a complete record 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. II 

of all the revelations of God, which occurred in the course 
of many centuries, therefore the chief facts were com- 
mitted to writing at the command and by the inspiration 
of the Lord. Speaking expresses the Word in temporary, 
and writing, in perm.anent form : the mode of inspiration 
is the same for either form. 

It should be well observed that the Scripture, while 
having many writers, has but one Author; namely, the 
Holy Spirit. The variety of diction, style, and argument 
existing between the various books, indicates the mani- 
fold characteristics, differing vocabulary, and degree of 
maturity of the m.en whose talents and attainments were 
utilized at pleasure by the Spirit, when He moved them 
to speak or write. Whatever gifts inspired men may 
have had, it is obvious that He who m.ade man with all his 
endowments, could use, for His own purposes, any and all 
such faculties which they possessed. Men of diverse stand- 
ing, character, and accomplishment were chosen as the in- 
struments of the Spirit, so as the more readily and fully 
to enlighten human understanding of every grade and 
disposition. Sometimes, also, the same truths are re- 
vealed through several contemporary persons, whose 
concurring testimony makes the more evident the inex- 
haustible depths and riches of the divine truth. More- 
over, every soul commissioned to speak or write, received 
the measure of inspiration according as it pleased the 
Holy Spirit; and thus, whenever filled with the Spirit, 
each spoke or wrote as moved and directed. 

The sacred writers received not merely the single words 
fitted to convey adequately the intended thought, they 



12 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

received all and everything implied by plenary inspiration. 
This includes, then, the style of language as fashioned and 
formed by utilization of the talents of each writer. It is 
just as truly the work of the Spirit, whether plain lan- 
guage is used, as chiefly in narratives; or figurative ex- 
pression, as mainly in teachings ; or symbolical presenta- 
tion, as mostly in prophecies. Furthermore, the kind of 
literature to which the individual books belong, is com- 
prehended by the inspiration. All the books of the Bible, 
whether they be predominately historical, or prevailingly 
doctrinal, or preeminently prophetic, all owe their char- 
acter to the principle that produced the component parts. 
Likewise, the theme of each writing is not the writer's 
own invention, but the choice of the Spirit, who selected 
it for the special end it v/as to serve in harmony with the 
general object of Scripture. The sequence of thought in 
every book is always consistent with the particular pur- 
pose which the respective writing serves. The all-pervad- 
ing great theme of Holy Scripture : God in Christ redeem- 
ing man — this theme, founded upon the account of crea- 
tion ; unfolded in the course of human history ; and ending 
with the vision of the heavenly consummation — is a most 
convincing factor in proving the Holy Spirit the Author 
of the Scripture. 

The beginning of Holy Scripture was made by the 
Lord Jehovah. It was on Mt. Sinai, when giving the laws 
and commandments to Moses for Israel, that God wrote 
on tables of stone the ten ''words" or commandments. 
This occasion constitutes the inception of recording divine 
revelation in Scripture form. All the words of the deca- 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. I3 

logue were graven by the finger of God upon the two 
sides of the stones. The thoughts as embodied in the 
language chosen, compose the recorded words ; thus God 
is the writer of the external and internal Word as im- 
pressed upon the stone tables. In later history, an event 
is recorded, telling how a hand suddenly appeared and 
wrote upon the wall in the room where King Belshazzar 
and his lords were gathered at feast. Self-evidently, that 
dreaded sentence was in the wording framed by the un- 
seen writer; and to Daniel, whom the King sent for, fell 
simply the task of interpreting those words. Another 
very significant incident is the one mentioned by David, 
when informing Solomon and the princes of Israel con- 
cerning the building of the temple; at this gathering, he 
declared with reference to the plans and specifications, 
that he had received them ''in writing from the hand of 
the Lord.'' By the foregoing facts, it is made plain that 
God not only gives the Word, but has power to record it, 
whether by His own finger and hand, or by the hand of 
an angel. 

It is, moreover, amply testified by the Scriptures them- 
selves, that the sacred pages have been written in accord- 
ance with the express will of God. When Moses stood 
before the Lord to receive the laws on which the divine 
covenant with the Israelites was conditioned, God said 
to him : ''Write thou these words : for after the tenor of 
these words I have made a covenant with thee and with 
Israel.'' In Psalm 45 : i, "My tongue is the pen of a ready 
writer," the Holy Spirit is called a ready writer, using as 
His instrument the person inspired. The tongue of the 



3PIRATI0N OF THE WORD. 



prophet by way of metaphor was the pen of the Spirit; 
since the prophet merely penned what his tongue was 
caused to say : the Spirit Himself gave the worded 
thoughts as they were to be recorded. A quotation from 
the writings of David is, in the Book of Acts, given with 
the introduction : ''It was needful that the Scripture be 
fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spake before by the mouth 
of David." Isaiah was ordered by the Lord : "Now go, 
write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that 
it may be for time to come for ever and ever.'' And hi^ 
book is quoted in Acts with the premised statement : 
''Well spake the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto 
your fathers.'' To Jeremiah, God said: "Take thee a roll 
of a book and write therein all the words that I have 
spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and 
against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, 
from the days of Josiah, even unto this day." A passage 
from Jeremiah is given in Hebrews with the introducing 
statement : "The Holy Ghost also beareth witness to us." 
Habakkuk, awaiting an answer from the Lord, was first 
of all told: "Write the vision, and make it plain upon 
tables that he may run that readeth it." Words as those 
with which Elijah began his letter to King Jehoram, 
"Thus saith the Lord God of David thy father," are, 
numerously paraphrased, very often met with, notably in 
prophetical writings. Such words serve to emphasize 
that God Himself has spoken what is there written. 
Though some of the Scripture books do not so plainly 
state that God ordered them to be written, they neverthe- 
less, by their contents and relation to other books of 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. I5 

Scripture, prove themselves inspired. Furthermore, these 
books are included in the Old Testament canon ; and they 
by that position have an attestation which outside books 
do not share. The very calling of such Old Testament 
writers as are mentioned in the Books of Chronicles : 
Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Iddo, Shemaiah, Jehu, 
Isaiah — makes it additionally evident that we are con- 
strained to receive their writings as being inspired. Fin- 
ally, these books are. like the rest, quoted and referred to 
as Scripture by the sacred writers of both Testaments as 
well as by Christ. That circumstance conclusively estab- 
lishes any writing to which it applies, to be just as authen- 
tic as are the self-attested ones. For the Holy Spirit, who 
is the Author of the entire Word of God and who inspired 
all its writers, will not designate anything Scripture, un- 
less it truly is Scripture. 

Christ, when about to ascend to heaven, assured the 
Apostles : ''Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost 
is come upon you : and ye shall be my witnesses both in 
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the 
uttermost part of the earth.'' Whichever way the Holy 
Spirit might direct, they were in public to witness and 
testify. Their testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, in 
truth, was both oral and written; for the Spirit even al- 
ready in former ages had moved men either to speak or to 
write, as He willed: and the words witness, testify, are 
relevant equally to the speaking or writing of what was 
inspired. Thus the Book of Acts says : "To him bear all 
the prophets witness" ; namely, in and by their writings. 



l6 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

Jesus himself says of the Old Testament Scriptures : 
''These are they which bear witness of me/' 

Among the New Testament writings, it is asserted of 
St. John's Gospel : ''This is the disciple \vhich beareth 
witness of these things, and wrote these things : and we 
know that his witness is true/' St. Matthew's Gospel, 
"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ," is distinctly 
a written testimony of the birth and life of Christ. In the 
First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul says : 'Tf any 
mian thinketh himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him 
take knowledge of the things which I write unto you, 
that they are the commandment of the Lord." And the 
Thessalonians, he addresses in the following words : 
''Brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye 
were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours." 
St. Peter assures his readers : "No prophecy of scripture 
is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came 
by the will of man : but men spake from God, being moved 
by the Holy Ghost." With reference to the revelations 
St. John had received, the Lord told him : "Write there- 
fore the things which thou sawest, and the things which 
are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter." 
The several New Testament writers who were not 
apostles, command equal Scriptural authority; because, 
being intimately associated with the apostles as their com- 
panions and colaborers, these men obtained exceptional 
qualification faithfully and precisely to represent the 
apostolic teaching and tradition of Christ. While not 
sharing the ordination to apostleship, they yet shared the 
inspiration by the Holy Spirit. Hence, their writings are 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. I7 

truly inspired, and apostolic as well. The tenor of all the 
before given Scripture passages is summarized in the 
words : "Every scripture is inspired of God/' In them- 
selves, the Scriptures manifestly bear the impress of their 
divine origin; and in relation to one another, each book 
more or less completely supplements and sustains the 
others. 

So far, then, as the perpetuation of the Word by writ- 
ing is concerned, the Scripture maintains convincingly it 
is the Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writers of 
whatever century and generation. He is the great divine 
Author of Holy Scripture, from its inception on Mt. 
Sinai to its conclusion on the Isle of Patmos. While, in 
early centuries, minor particles and words have been 
slightly changed by frequent transcribing, still the text in 
the original languages virtually remains as it was in- 
spired ; and besides, the insignificant variations which did 
occur, do not in the least affect the efficacy and authority, 
which the Scripture ever holds by reason of its divine 
origin. Consequently, the Scriptures today, in the day of 
grace and fulfillment, are as truly the Word of God as 
were oral messages in the days of prophecy and 
revelation. 

3. Efficacy and Authority of Scripture. 

From the relation of the Holy Spirit to the divinely 
inspired and perpetuated Word, follows His relation to 
the operation of the same. The ever abiding efficacy of 
the Word becomes operative through the ministration of 
the Spirit. Where the Word of God is heard and re- 



l8 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

ceived, its inherent power works according to God's will 
and counsel. The external Word is the bearer of the 
spiritual power of life. 

In many differing ways, the Word produces its effects 
within man : sometimes, like a seed, rooting and sprouting 
in the heart, or, like a leaven, pervading the entire soul; 
other times, like a light, illuminating the understanding, 
or, like a fountain, refreshing the weary ; often the Word 
penetrates, as a sword pierces to the innermost, or it 
soothes, as a balm heals the wounds ; again often, it 
strengthens, as bread nourishes the hungry, or it directs, 
as a guide points out the way that one should travel. In 
general, the Word of God is the touchstone of the human 
conscience through whatever varying conditions, relations 
and experiences a soul may pass during its earthly life. 
For such purposes as these, the Word was inspired and 
recorded in its Biblical form, to persuade mankind of the 
need of salvation and testify of the Saviour of the world. 
Comparing the work to be wrought by His Word to the 
results produced by snow and rain, God says : ''So shafl 
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall 
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto 
I sent it.'' 

As regards the actual form of Scripture, it is true, the 
Holy Spirit was indeed entirely free to express the divine 
thoughts in whatever sort of words and constructions it 
pleased him ; which fact is observable by noting the ren- 
dering of Old Testament passages in New Testament 
writings. Therefore it is unjustifiable to exalt unduly the 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. IQ 

external Word : it is but the embodiment, exponent, and 
bearer of the spiritual, eternal, living Word ; and all wor- 
ship of the letter is of no avail. ''The letter killeth, the 
spirit giveth life." Nevertheless, it is equally true that 
there is to the inspired, external Word of Scripture a 
finality which every true believer will readily perceive and 
duly reverence; remembering that God gave His Word 
once for all time. Moreover, he will clearly recognize 
that without the external Word the internal is unknown 
to mankind. And besides, the divine authorship of the 
Word precludes all irreverent dealing with the same on 
the part of any one who truly knows and treasures the 
Word of God, as the source and sustenance of his spir- 
itual life. God also expressly commanded : ''Ye shall not 
add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye 
diminish ought from it, that ye m_ay keep the command- 
ments of the Lord your God which I command you.'' 
"Not to destroy, but to fulfill," is the believer's privilege 
after the example of Christ. 

The aim of all hearing and reading the Word of God 
should be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to ascer- 
tain the spiritual content of the Word. Only thus can 
souls come to living faith and the life hid with Christ in 
God ; and only by keeping the Word do they grow in the 
inner, spiritual man. For, the Word of Scripture is the 
Holy Spirit's sole authorized means of producing and 
preserving faith and life in souls. (Devotional literature, 
whenever Scriptural, always aims to direct to the 
Word of God; never, to distract from it.) This Word, 
the authorized means of grace, is the basis of God's eter- 



20 INSPIFL\TIOX OF THE WORD. 

nal covenant, and the life-principle of the Church of 
Christ. Where the authority of the Word is lightly 
esteemed or ignored, because of worldly indifference or 
spiritual pride, there the Spirit withdraws and communion 
with God is interrupted or severed. He, surely, gave the 
Word that it should teach men God's way of dealing with 
them, and become the efficacious means of their salvation. 
Therefore, God and the Lord Jesus, the Prophets and 
Apostles, with one consent unanimously declare and 
maintain that the Word is to be heard and heeded by all 
the earth. All the blessings of salvation are bound up 
with the faithful use of the Word, and the curses of 
perdition follow from ignoring it. 

God Himself exhorted the world ever by means of the 
Word. As the covenant people stood upon the threshold 
of the promised land, the Lord, in His final, great charge 
to them, said : "The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy 
mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I 
have set before thee this day life and good, and death and 
evil.'' And ]\Ioses, having delivered God's charge to the 
people, concluded by saying : "Set your hearts unto all the 
words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall 
command your children to observ'e to do, all the words 
of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you ; because it 
is your life." When the mantle of Moses was placed 
upon the shoulders of Joshua, he was enjoined: "This 
book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but 
thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou 
mayest observe to do according to all that is written there- 
in : for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then 



INSPIIL\TION OF THE WORD. 21 

thou shalt have good success.'' King Saul, having been 
rejected because he disregarded and transgressed the 
Lord's instructions, was told : ''To obey is better than 
sacrifice." Nehemiah, in recounting the causes that led 
to the tearful Babylonian captivity, says : ''They dealt 
proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but 
sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he 
shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder and hard- 
ened their neck and would not hear. Yet many years 
didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by 
thy Spirit in thy prophets : yet they would not give ear." 
The great blessings of the AVord are pointed out in the 
words of the Psalm: "The lavv^ of the Lord is perfect, re- 
storing the soul : the testim.ony of the Lord is sure, mak- 
ing wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, 
rejoicing the heart. More to be desired are they than 
gold, yea, than much fine gold : sv/eeter also than honey 
and the honeycomb. [Moreover by them is thy servant 
warned : and in keeping of them there is great reward." 
By the writer of Proverbs, the Lord says : "My son, for- 
get not my law ; but let thine heart keep my command- 
ments. For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall 
they add to thee." In speaking by Isaiah of the new 
covenant people, God makes the stipulation : "As for me, 
this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord ; My Spirit 
that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy 
mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the 
mouth of thy seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth 
and forever." Of the Book of Daniel, God stated that, to 
people of future days, it would be a source of great 



^2 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

knowledge : ''Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal 
the book, even to the time of the end : many shall run to 
and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." In Hosea, 
the Lord declares concerning Ephraim : 'T have written 
to him the great things of my law, but they were counted 
as a strange thing" ; and the Prophet says : ''ily God will 
cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him.'' 
Through the prophets, God remained in closest touch with 
the covenant people, for the purpose of exhorting, fore- 
warning, and instructing them. Thus Amos declares : 
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth 
his secret unto his servants the prophets.'' The written 
and the spoken Word of God was the holy tie that united 
the Lord Jehovah and the Israelites in the great covenant 
of old. 

The statements of Christ plainly show the salvation of 
the world to depend upon the hearing and keeping of His 
words. Jesus holds this preeminent position, because He 
is the ^Mediator between God and man. It is attested al- 
ready by the prophecy through ?^Ioses : 'T will raise them 
up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, 
and will put my words in his mouth ; and he shall speak 
unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall 
come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto my 
words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it 
of him." Moreover, God, in a voice from heaven, gave 
the solemn and supreme witness concerning Christ Jesus : 
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; 
hear ye him." The words of Christ, which since apostoHc 
days are perpetuated in Holy Scripture, are as truly His 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 23 

words as any which he ever spoke in the temple, the syna- 
gogues, or the homes of the Jews ; whether in pubHc be- 
fore the Pharisees and multitudes, or in private to His 
beloved disciples. This authenticity is vouched for by the 
fact, that it is the Holy Spirit who recalled the words of 
Jesus to the remembrance of the disciples : even the Holy 
Spirit who had anointed the Lord Jesus also; and of 
whom Jesus said to the Apostles, ''He shall teach you all 
things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said 
unto you." 

All that would come to the eternal kingdom of God, 
need to hear and accept the words of Christ, as taught by 
Himself and His Apostles. How exceedingly important 
a matter this is, appears from words like the following: 
''Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that heareth my word, 
and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and com- 
eth not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into 
life. — If any man hear my sayings, and keep them not, I 
judge him not : for I am come not to judge the world, but 
to save the world. He that rejecteth me, and receiveth 
not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him : the word that 
I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.'' De- 
fining the essence of the divine Word, Christ says : "The 
words that I have spoken unto you, are spirit and are life." 
Only they who search the Scriptures and believe what 
they set forth regarding Christ, obtain the spiritual life 
and being: "He that believeth on me — as the scripture 
hath said, from his belly shall flow rivers of living water." 
Persons who are truly transformed by the power of the 
Word, He denotes as "such as in an honest and good 



24 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth 
fruit with patience/' To oppose or decry the manifest 
power of the Word, is by the Lord characterized as sin 
against the Holy Spirit, regarding which sin He says : 
''Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; 
but the blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be for- 
given. And whosoever shall speak a v/ord against the 
Son of man, it shall be forgiven him ; but whosoever shall 
speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven 
him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.'' 

In this connection, it should never be forgotten how 
Jesus ever directed all persons to the Scriptures. The 
written Word is the rock on which He built. All the 
Apostles, too, recognized and reverenced the sovereign 
authority of the recorded Word. By constant reference 
and quotation, they plainly proved their teaching to be in 
full, logical harmony with God's Word of the Old Testa- 
ment. 

The Apostles knew the same efficacy and authority to 
inhere in the divinely inspired words spoken or VN^ritten by 
themselves, as inheres in the divinely inspired Old Testa- 
m.ent Scriptures. Thus, St. Paul declares : ''We are a 
sweet savour of Christ unto God, in them that are being 
saved, and in them that are perishing ; to the one a savour 
from death unto death ; to the other a savour from life 
unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For 
we are not as the many, corrupting the Word of God : but 
as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, we 
speak in Christ." To the Thessalonians, he writes : "I 
adjure you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all 



INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 25 

the brethren"; and again, in the succeeding Epistle to 
them, he says : 'If any man obeyeth not our word by this 
epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, 
to the end that he may be ashamed/' The Epistle to the 
Hebrews exhorts : "Therefore we ought to give the more 
earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we 
drift away from them"; repeatedly the same Epistle ad- 
monishes its readers, ''Wherefore, even as the Holy Ghost 
saith : Today if ye shall hear his voice, harden not your 
hearts." St. Peter exhorts the brethren whom he ad- 
dressed, to remember the Word of God, saying : "This is 
now, beloved, the second epistle that I write unto you; 
and in both of them I stir up your sincere mind by putting 
you in remembrance ; that ye should remember the words 
which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and the 
commandment of the Lord and Saviour through your 
apostles." And previously, he had said: "We have the 
Word of prophecy made more sure ; whereunto ye do well 
rhat ye take heed." In order to abide in fellowship with 
Christ, the Word must be kept, as St. John declares : "He 
that keepeth his commandments abideth in him, and he in 
him." St. John says similarly in the Book of Revelation : 
"Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words 
of the prophecy and keep the things which are written 
therein." 

In truth, the Word of God is the inexhaustible power 
unto salvation and the perfect rule of faith. If any do 
not apprehend this power and perfection, it is for the 
reason that St. Paul gives : "But and if our gospel is 
veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing: in whom the 



26 INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 

god of this world hath Winded the minds of the unbeliev- 
ing, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, 
who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them/' 
To all that hear and keep the Word, the Holy Spirit re- 
veals its deep, true meaning. Indeed, the entire work of 
the salvation of souls is performed by means of the Word 
of Scripture. The key to the efficacy of Scripture is 
found in the testimony that it gives concerning Christ 
Jesus, the Saviour of the world. Quietly but tellingly, 
the Word operates in hearts to renew, transform, and 
sanctify the inner life of man. The more faithfully 
Christians will hear and keep the Word of God, the more 
securely will the Holy Spirit preserve them unto ever- 
lasting Hfe. Therefore Jesus says : ''Blessed are they that 
hear the word of God, and keep it.'' 

In conclusion, the Scriptures abundantly establish the 
fact that the Word was verbally inspired by the Holy 
Spirit. The Prophets, the Apostles, and above all, the 
Lord Jesus Christ, were the inspired ones by whom the 
Spirit of God spake and revealed the Word. The Word 
of God as perpetuated in Holy Scripture, is as truly His 
Word as any ever spoken or preached under the divine in- 
spiration of the Spirit. To the Word thus spoken and 
written, applies the exhortation : ''O earth, earth, earth, 
hear the Word of the Lord !" The efficacy of the Word 
is ever the same ; till the great day of the Lord shall have 
arrived, when He will send forth His angels to gather 
the golden harvest. Truly, the Word of Scripture is the 
Word of the Triune God. 'Torever, O Lord, thy word 
is settled in heaven." 




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